What Alchemy Requires

Most alchemy recipes require a vial (vendor-bought) and herbs. Because of the high need for herbs to create potions from, it is highly recommended that an alchemist's second profession is Herbalism.

Is Alchemy For Me?

Alchemy is a very broad field that provides effects for anyone. Regardless of your class or playstyle, there will be something you can use from Alchemy. This can be good reason to be an alchemist yourself, or to befriend one in case you need a potion later on.

In terms of making money, alchemy is one of the production tradeskills that can actually be profitable, but the supply and demand of certain potions changes tremendously based on what high-level characters need most at that time. For example, Greater Fire Protection Potions and their ingredients were hot commodities while most raiding guildes were trying to kill Ragnaros. Once guilds moved on beyond Molten Core, GFPP's stopped being nearly as important and their price dropped tremendously. Still, some potions are always useful -- casters will always need Super Mana Potions...at least until a bigger mana potion enters the game!

The benefits of being your own alchemist include the use of the Alchemist's Stone trinket

When you choose your area of focus, there is a chance when producing items of that type that you will produce extras. So for example, if you were making five Super Healing Potions as a potion master, it's likely that one of those combines would produce 2-5 potions rather than just 1. Flasks are classified as Elixirs for masteries.

New in Wrath of the Lich King

Passive Ability

Some information from this section has been taken directly from WotLK wiki until we have some reliable info from WoWreader.

Alchemists will get a new passive ability called Mixology. The tooltip states: "You receive an increased effect when you drink any elixir or flask you are able to make." The increased effect seems to be somewhere between 20-30% which could be quite the boost to flasks.

New Transmutes

Like the Burning Crusade Primal Elements, Lich King has Eternal Elements which can be transmuted to other Eternal Elements as follows (note these are all Eternal). Each of these requires a Philosopher's Stone and one of the Eternal Elements to perform the transmute.

Fire to Water

Fire to Life

Air to Water

Air to Earth

Earth to Air

Earth to Shadow

Shadow to Life

Shadow to Earth

Water to Fire

Water to Air

New Recipes

A note on the Crazy Alchemist's Potion - unlike the Mad Alchemist's potion there is no guaranteed effect. All effects are random though they do seem to relate to both class as well as health/mama level. Some effects that hev been seen so fare are:

Nightmare Potion effect (seems to only happen when you're lower on health and mana)

External Links

^ Herbert Halsey's name is a pop culture reference to two people: Herbert West and Dr. Halsey, from the pulp horror novel 'Herbert West - Reanimator' by H. P. Lovecraft. Dr. Halsey is the dean of the Miskatonic University Medical School, West's principal opponent in his reanimation research. Lovecraft, Howard Phillips (1922-1923). Herbert West: Reanimator.